Initiation by Fire
by Flight of Folly
Summary: Michelle’s first week at CTU.
1. Monday: The Interview

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately I don't own '24' or its characters.

**Setting:** This story takes place three weeks after the events of Day 1.

**A/N:** This is a Michelle-centric story, however, at times it will be written from Tony's perspective. I've endeavoured to make this clear to the reader, but please let me know if I've failed to do so.

Monday: _The Interview_

7:00am

The newsreader's voice penetrated Michelle's sleep, slowly seeping into her consciousness; her eyes remained firmly closed for the next few minutes as she listened to the news. _Monday morning_ she moaned to herself. Then, as was her morning habitat, she stretched out on her back and stared at the ceiling while focusing her thoughts on the day ahead. She had several software updates, a briefing report, as well as a group meeting today, and this morning was the job interview. The job represented a golden opportunity. The Internet Protocol Manager's position would be interesting and challenging, and at CTU she'd be located right in the middle of the action. It would also mean no longer working under Carrie; the woman seemed to go out of her way to disparage, demean and discourage Michelle, as if ruining Danny's life wasn't enough. At this thought she pushed aside her cover and walked across to her wardrobe. She had made her decision on what to wear the previous evening; a conservative but well tailored navy suit and burgundy shirt. She quickly slipped on the outfit and made her way to the bathroom to fix her hair and make-up. Ten minutes later she was walking into the kitchen.

"Whoa… you're dressed to kill!"

A smiled crossed Michelle's face as she turned towards Andy, her best friend since freshman year at UC Davis, who was sitting at the island bar sipping an enormous mug of tea.

"The job interview is today," Michelle reminded her.

"Of course, the IT-MAN position. Well if you don't woe them with your brains, that look ought to do it," Andy responded.

"IP-MAN… Internet Protocol Manager," Michelle corrected, deliberately ignoring Andy's politically incorrect remark. Far from naïve, Michelle realized that as an attractive woman she would first be judged by her appearance. For that reason, she had carefully selected a neat professional outfit to reflect her outlook towards her job.

"The dream job. Let's see if I can get this right in my current semi-awake state. An IP-MAN is responsible for managing an internal computer network, an 'intranet'. They control the security encryption of data packages sent within the office and between offices," recited Andy, effectively parroting the explanation given to her by Michelle the previous evening.

"Perfectly explained but I'll still have to deduct marks for your earlier mistake," teased Michelle as she set about making herself a coffee and toasted bagel for breakfast.

"Understandable. Now it's your turn, in a hundred words or less, describe the method and application of an invasion assay," Andy replied, punctuating her question by swallowing the final mouthful of her tea, indicating that she was fully caffeinated and ready to rumble.

Settling at the island bar with her breakfast, Michelle took a bite from her bagel using the time to recall last night's discussion. Andy was a PhD student in Microbiology and had been explaining her latest set of experiments over their traditional Sunday cheese and wine night.

"An invasion assay looks at the ability of a bacteria or virus to enter into a cell. Cells are grown in layers in tissue culture and the bacteria or virus are added and allowed to invade; the number within a cell indicates the efficiency of invasion and the potential infectivity," Michelle answered.

"Well, if you can explain your own work with such confidence and clarity, that job is yours," Andy responded.

"I hope so, not only do I really want this job but I just have to get away from Carrie before I throttle her," Michelle confessed.

"You know that you have the skills to do the job, so just make sure that you don't leave the interviewers with any doubt of that fact," advised Andy.

"The problem is that every applicant falls into that category," pointed out Michelle as she rose to clear up her breakfast dishes.

"You're far too logical for 7:30 in the morning. How about we continue this conversation over margaritas and burritos at 'Los Amigos' tonight?" Andy countered.

"I'll meet you there at 7:30. We can celebrate or commiserate as appropriate," Michelle replied and headed out to start her Monday knowing that at least one enjoyable thing would come from the day.

…

10.30am

After showing the CTU guard her Division ID & submitting her bag for X-ray, Michelle was escorted through to the main floor. She took in her surrounding as they crossed the open-plan area. People looked up from their computer screens or files to glance at her as she was led across to a glass enclosed conference room. The guard opened the door, ushering her in. Michelle focused on the two men seated at one side of the table, her interview panel. She immediately recognized George Mason, who had worked at Division before taking over as Director of CTU; he was wearing a grey suit, stripped tie and a disinterested look. The LA Times sat folded to the crossword beside him. The second man, a Latino dressed in a dark shirt with the top buttons undone had an intense, unflinching air of confidence and control. He was Tony Almeida, the chief of staff. Most of the details regarding the events at CTU on the day of the Primary were classified, which only seemed to fuel the abundance and variety of rumours. Stories ranged from him being a mindless pawn under Nina's command to a devious double agent; obviously the latter had been addressed by an internal investigation but, based on first impressions, the former didn't strike Michelle as any more plausible.

"Ms Dessler," George began, indicating the seat directly in front of himself and Tony. Michelle quickly reined her thoughts back to the moment, and responded with a smile as she sat down, carefully smoothing her skirt.

"I'm George Mason, and this is Tony Almeida," he continued.

"Pleased to meet you," Michelle responded, and noting that George's crossword had two clues remaining, she added, "Ten down was rather tricky today."

"You're a crossword fan?" George enquired, a spark of interest flickering in his eyes.

"Especially the cryptics," replied Michelle.

In short order, the conversation progressed to the standard questions covering her previous positions and duties, leading up to her current post at Division. Her reason for wishing to transfer was easily explained by the opportunity the job presented. And her latest performance evaluation had been highly favourable despite being arbitrated by the austere Ryan Chappelle.

"Your results in the basic field ops course are quite impressive for someone lacking a military or law enforcement background," George commented dryly.

"I enjoyed the course; I've been studying martial arts since my freshman year at college," Michelle replied.

"That certainly explains your excellent hand-to-hand combat marks, although I noticed that your firearm skills were not at the same level," Tony coolly stated.

"I've never had any formal firearm training, nor have I had any occasion to need such skills. However, if it's important for the job I'm sure it would be a simple matter to remedy," Michelle responded, while wondering what exactly she was signing herself up for. "Yet, in my personal experience computers don't tend to respond well to threats or intimidation," she added with a slight smile. While George looked slightly amused at her joke, Tony's aloof air only seemed to become more apparent.

Rubbing his face, Tony enquired, "So you think it's fairly simple to master firearm skills?"

The question was confrontational, as well as a highly coloured, and incorrect, interpretation of her last statement. Michelle certainly wasn't going to let Tony get away with such a remark, nor was she going to lower herself to petty detractors. Keeping her poised countenance and speaking in a calm voice, she clarified, "The decision to learn a weapon is simple, although having studied several as part of my martial arts training; I certainly agree that their mastery is a difficult task".

Tony's impassive gaze remained fixed on Michelle and she felt, not for the first time, that he really didn't trust her. George on the other hand, appeared quite amused by the whole situation.

"Tony would be a perfect teacher for you, he's an ex-Marine sniper," George commented, effectively explaining Tony's response and ending their debate.

Several harmless questions later, the interview ended and Michelle was once again being escorted through CTU by a security guard. Replaying the interview in her head as she walked to her car, Michelle was unable to conclude whether it had gone well or not. George seemed to like her despite being reputed as difficult to get along with, but Tony was a cipher. Never having met him prior to the saga with Nina, Michelle was unsure how much of his guarded behaviour was due to this as opposed to his reaction to her.

Still musing over the interview as she reached her car, Michelle plugged her cell phone into its hands-free and dialled Andy's number as she drove away from CTU. She proceeded to give Andy a concise briefing of the interview, stressing Tony's unreceptive behaviour.

"You're overanalysing the situation. You'll know if you have the job in the next couple of days, although if this guy is really so terrible you might be better off with the devil you know," Andy counselled.

"I don't think Tony's ruthless like Carrie. He's hard to read but I think he is just really reserved, which is understandable given his history," Michelle mused.

"So he's the strong and silent type," Andy surmised, "Is he good looking?"

"He's the last person on earth who would date a co-worker and I'm quite content being single," Michelle countered.

"Therefore he is handsome," Andy teased. A timer sounded in the background, "My bacteria are waiting for me. We'll continue this discussion tonight over a couple of margaritas," she added ominously.

Laughing Michelle said goodbye and taking Andy's earlier advice, stopped stressing over events she couldn't change and focused on the pile of work awaiting her at Division.

…

3:05pm

Finishing their eighth and final interview for the day, George and Tony began the discussion over the merits of the various candidates. George favoured Michelle while Tony thought the last of the interviewees, Jason, would be the best for the job.

"Jason was too acquiescent," George commented bluntly, "Now Michelle had real character; she certainly didn't stand for your insinuations".

"I was just clarifying an ambiguous response, George," Tony retaliated, struggling unsuccessfully to suppress his irritated tone. "And I'm not sure why you want assertive staff when you rarely take the trouble to listen to us."

"I'm not interested in your sarcasm, Tony. Michelle has the right experience, as well as a positive attitude and pleasant personality; not to mention that she's a hell of a lot more pleasant to look at. I thought you liked brunettes?" George stated calmly, turning in his chair to look straight at Tony.

Tony forced himself to hold both his temper and his tongue, as he silently met George's gaze. George disliked Tony about as much as his job, although the reason for this hatred was a mystery to Tony. For the most part, George stayed in his office and out of Tony's way, leaving Tony with most of the workload but also the autonomy to run CTU. He would be thankful to have someone competent and dedicated like Michelle in the IP-MAN position. He knew that George was right, both about his selection as well as Tony's reason for disagreeing with it. He was aware how stupid it was not to trust Michelle simply because she shared a gender with Nina, but the last three weeks had been the worst of Tony's life.

"I'm going to call Ryan and clear the appointment with him," George stated, bringing Tony back to the reality of work.

"Fine. I'm going to catch up on the daily reports," Tony replied. He walked back to his workstation to commence something more productive, and less depressing, than his current train of thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, Tony was engrossed in evaluating the latest intelligence chatter when his phone rang.

"Almeida," he responded automatically, still focused on reading the data in front of him.

"Tony, it's George. Ryan's in agreement; he'll arrange a replacement for Michelle over at Division so she can start immediately. Can you inform her that she starts tomorrow at 8am? You'll also need to organize her security clearance and other HR paperwork."

"George, I'm right in the middle of assessing a possible threat. Why don't you call Michelle and I'll arrange the details once I finish here," Tony responded.

"I have almost a hundred e-mails and half a dozen reports that I need to deal with. The phone call will only take a couple of minutes," George countered, ended the argument by hanging up.

"Then it should be easy enough for you to do George, especially since you're going to forward most of those e-mails and reports to me anyway," Tony groused to the dead line. Quickly pulling up the Division phone listing, he located Michelle's extension and dialled.

The ringing phone interrupted Michelle's concentration; this was the forth call in that many minutes. "Carrie as I've already told you three times, the search is still running. You'll have a full report the minute I have the data," Michelle answered the phone, her tone firm and unyielding.

"Ms Dessler?" Tony enquired.

"Speaking," Michelle responded, quickly recovering and trying to determine exactly whom she had just dressed down.

"This is Tony Almeida, CTU."

"Yes, Mr Almeida," Michelle responded, mentally kicking herself for her ability to put her foot in her mouth whenever she spoke with him.

"Congratulations, the IP-MAN position is yours. We're going to need you to start immediately. So we'll see you tomorrow morning 8am."

"Thank you," Michelle replied, attempting to assimilate the news, "But I'm not sure I'll be available to start immediately. As you must have deduced by my curt, and rather inappropriate, manner of answering the phone, I'm in the middle of a high priority protocol search."

Inadvertently a smile crept across Tony's face at Michelle's last words, which were almost identical to his earlier response to George.

"Ryan Chappelle has cleared your transfer and is making the necessary arrangements for your replacement," Tony replied.

"OK. I'll see you tomorrow," Michelle answered.

"See you tomorrow," Tony responded. As he hung up, the thought that he was actually looking forward to working with Michelle briefly passed through his mind before he wrestled his thoughts back to the task at hand.

…

7:40pm

Michelle quickly walked into the restaurant; she was late, no thanks to Carrie, who had been determined to obtain her pound of flesh from Michelle before her transfer. A smile crossed Michelle's face at the thought of never having to work with Carrie again. The smile deepened at the recollection of Carrie's reaction to her transfer. It was hard to know what had galled her more, the fact that she wouldn't be able to indulge in her daily vindictive torments or that Michelle's promotion now made her a superior.

"Michelle," Andy called out, waving Michelle over.

"You look like the cat that got the cream. What's his name?"

"You're incorrigible. The job's mine, starting tomorrow," Michelle replied excitement evident in her voice as she settled into the seat across from Andy.

"That's brilliant!" Andy exclaimed. "So obviously your little faux pas at the interview wasn't such a big deal."

Michelle groaned slightly and quickly filled Andy in on the subsequent phone call and her second error for the day.

Laughing Andy stated, "That's why you got the job, because now you have to work with Tony and face your mistakes. Hey, if you were the poised professional at the time, you'll be fine by tomorrow when it's all in the past."

"I hope so. I have a feeling that there is more to this job than I initially anticipated," Michelle replied. At this point, their margaritas arrived and both the atmosphere and conversation lightened up.

**A/N:** I realize that this chapter isn't really 'action/adventure' as advertised; I promise this was just an introductory chapter and Michelle's intuition will prove to be correct!


	2. Tuesday: First Day

**A/N:** Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Please feel free to make any comments, suggestions or critiques; I'm always trying to improve my writing, for your sake as well as my own! I appreciate the anonymous reviewer who pointed out my error in UC campuses; I spent considerable time researching Michelle's bio only to write the previous chapter interstate without the luxury of having my notes at hand. The mistake has been corrected.

Tuesday: _First Day_

7:57am

Arriving at CTU, Michelle was issued a pass card by an enthusiastic guard named Steve who explained the building's various security procedures. Walking into the main floor minutes later, Michelle scanned the workstations to locate Tony. Catching sight of him rising from his chair, obviously already having spotted her, she walked across to join him.

"Morning Ms Dessler," he greeted her.

"Good morning. Please call me Michelle," she amended with a smile.

"Of course, call me Tony," he responded while collecting several manila folders bearing the CTU logo from the corner of his desk. "We'll get all the official paperwork out of the way, and then I'll explain the network and bring you up to speed on the current protocols. We can work out of the Situation room," he said inclining his head towards the conference room where Michelle had been interviewed only yesterday.

"Did you want to get some coffee?" he asked grabbing a half full Cubs mug from his desk.

"No, I'm fine," Michelle answered.

"OK, let's get started."

Twenty minutes later, Tony was demonstrating the nodal partitioning of the network when George poked his head into the Situation room with a cup of coffee in hand and the newspaper tucked under his arm.

"Morning Tony, Michelle. Everything going OK?" he enquired.

"Morning George," Tony responded, looking pointedly at his watch, before adding, "I'm just about to brief Michelle on the current protocols; will you be joining us?"

"I have to finish up a status report for Division. I'm sure you can handle it," he replied. Turning towards Michelle, he added with a smile, "Welcome to CTU, Tony will be able to get you settled in. And don't worry; his bark is worse than his bite."

Tony shook his head slightly as he watched George head upstairs to his office.

"George and I have a love-hate relationship; I love this job and he hates it," Tony explained with a sarcastic tone and slight smirk.

Michelle can't help but smile at this comment, which certainly synced with all that she had seen of these two men. She also noted that George's last comment was right; Tony did have a human side hidden under that stiff reserve.

Returning their attention to work, the next fifty minutes passed quickly as Michelle focused on absorbing the vast amount of information Tony provided on the CTU network, procedures and current protocols. There was a lot of data flow that Michelle would be in charge of supporting and securing, as well as numerous multi-user interfaces, or sockets, which needed to be managed. Her duties would also include generating search algorithms to data mine various databases for intel on various active protocols.

"Hopefully I haven't totally overwhelmed you with information; the details should fall into place quickly enough once you start working," Tony commented as he closed the final manila folder.

"Your first protocol is a data mining search on a local hate group that has been on the FBI's watch list for several years. The Palestinian Freedom Front, PFF, is a San Fernando-based group of young American-born Palestinians who meet to vent their anger over drinks and target shooting. Members have been implicated in vandalism, offensive behaviours and other misdemeanours. The concern is that they represent an ideal target for fanatic groups to radicalise. Homeland Security has recently reported several mentions of the group in internet chatter. What I need you to do is look into the group members, particularly their past histories and associates; you'll need to collate data from both CTU and other agencies. So let's get you set up with all the relevant access codes."

"OK," replied Michelle as she rose, eager to get to work. She followed Tony back out into the bullpen where he walked her over to the workstation beside his.

"You'll be sitting here," he said activating the computer and bringing up the administrator application to generate a login for Michelle.

"You should be all ready to go now, let me know if you need something or have any questions, OK?"

"Thanks," Michelle replied as she settled into her new desk, and immediately immersed herself in setting up the algorithms and data links to commence the search protocols.

…

1.20pm

Her grumbling stomach was the first sign of the amount of time that Michelle had been engrossed in her search. Glancing at the download status of her current data link, she decided that now would be a good time to grab some lunch. Locking her computer, she grabbed her bag and headed to the break room.

Entering the room, Michelle scanned the few occupants; none were familiar. She choose a seat at an empty table, unwrapped her sandwich, one of the few things to which her culinary skills extended, and took a bite while fishing her notepad and pen from her bag. She figured that if she was eating alone, she might as well get some work done.

"You know there is a reason why it's referred to as a lunch break," Tony commented sarcastically.

Putting down her pen, Michelle looked up and retaliated with a smile, "My boss is a real slave driver."

This response drew a half smile from Tony, confirmation that he did indeed have a sense of humour.

"Mind if I join you?"

Michelle nodded her assent, and Tony took the seat across from her, placing down a Tupperware container. Opening his lunch, steam wafted out along with the rich aroma of spices.

"Smells good," Michelle commented as she cast a glance down at her half-eaten sandwich.

"Left-over paella; I've never managed to master the whole scaling down recipes skill."

"You cook?" Michelle enquired, slightly surprised at this revelation.

"Yeah, cook, iron, clean."

The thought that he'd make an ideal househusband crossed Michelle's mind; however, she settled for the conservative response, "Your mom must be proud."

An awkward silence ensued after this comment and they both focused on eating their respective lunches. After a couple of mouthfuls, Tony enquired, "So how's your first day going?"

"Good, the network systems and lay-out are obviously the same as Division. So it's just a matter of becoming familiar with the CTU protocols and interfaces."

Tony nodded; the couple of questions he had addressed from Michelle so far that day indicated that she was certainly fluent with the system and quickly adapting to CTU's configuration.

"How are you progressing with the search protocol?"

"I've generated a list of fifteen members by shifting through various watch lists and associated surveillance data. So far, I have compiled backgrounds for most of them including employment, residential and criminal information. I'm currently working on known associates focusing on recent contacts," Michelle summarised.

"You're doing well. Are there any interesting or anomalous results?"

"Not so far. Everything indicates that these guys are minor delinquents," Michelle commented.

"OK. Let me know if anything comes up," Tony added

"Sure. How did you want me to set out the report once the data is collected?" Michelle asked. They proceeded to spend the rest of their shared meal discussing the details of the report format before walking back to their respective desks to return to work.

…

3.15pm

"Michelle, has the search protocol yielded anything yet?" Tony enquired in a brisk tone walking up to her desk, CTU folder in hand.

"No, is there new intel?" Michelle questioned, picking up on the gravity in his tone.

"I've just finished reviewing the latest chatter from NSA and there is a suggestion of an up-coming attack in the West Coast," Tony replied.

"Is there any specific mention of LA or PFF?"

"No, the intel is vague. I need you to put together an interim report with everything you have so far and I'm going to need it ready in ten minutes."

"I'll get onto that right away," Michelle replied, turning immediately back to her monitor.

She had commenced the report during a particularly slow download straight after lunch, and had been updating it as new data came to hand. Thus now it was a simple matter of adding the most recent results. Less then two minutes later she approached Tony's workstation, report in hand. He was focused on his monitor, fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard. Michelle paused for a moment unsure whether she should disturb his concentration.

"Is there a problem?" Tony asked in a slightly gruff voice, not taking his eyes off the data on his screen.

"Report's ready," Michelle responded tersely.

Tony turned towards her, a look of surprise briefly crossing his face, "That was quick. Just give me a couple of seconds." Returning his attention to his work without waiting for her reply, he continued scrolling though the data in front of him until he reached whatever he was looking for. Scrawling something on the notepad beside his keyboard, he rose grabbing both the notepad and a manila folder alongside it.

"Let's go," he said, looking across at Michelle.

"Go where?"

"We're briefing George on the situation; it's his call on how we proceed at this point," Tony explained.

Following Tony upstairs, Michelle felt a slight wave of nervousness. She normally liked to have some time to review a report and make some notes before presenting it to her superiors. Entering George's office after Tony, Michelle quickly took in the rather bleak, depersonalised environment before fixing her gaze on George himself, who in a charcoal suit and listless expression, blended into his surroundings. George's gaze was fixed on Tony, who began the briefing.

"It looks like there is a plausible threat for the West Coast; I have independent intel from NSA and Homeland Security. At this stage details are sparse but it appears that the time frame is later this week. The exact target, as well as the nature and seriousness of the attack, are unknown at this point. But given the recent spike in chatter regarding PFF, they are definitely a potential lead."

George nodded and looked across at Michelle, "Where are you with the search protocol on PFF?"

Stepping forward, Michelle handed the 14-page report to George as she concisely covered the material contained within it.

"Thanks, Michelle. I'll contact Division and up-date them on the situation. Tony, assemble all department heads in the Situation Room in five minutes."

Tony nodded and headed back to the bullpen. Michelle followed him downstairs unsure exactly what was happening or what she was supposed to be doing. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Tony turned to her and explained, "Once George has approval from Chappelle, he'll initiate an active protocol. That means that all departments will be involved in investigating this threat. You'll need to present your report again at the meeting, so use the five minutes to put together an appropriate presentation. Send it to directory 6 delta."

"OK," responded Michelle, heading back to her workstation and forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, rather than the fact that she would have to present an incomplete report, which hadn't generated any leads. Five minutes later, she walked into the Situation Room. Half a dozen people were seated around the table with George and Tony at the head. Meeting her eyes as she entered, Tony inclined his head towards an empty seat across from him. Michelle made her way across the room and took her place. George rose from his seat, and began to address the meeting.

"OK, we are now officially on active protocol. There is an imminent threat for the West Coast, exact location and nature unknown. We need to determine who is behind the threat and the specifics of the attack. Our primary lead is the Palestinian Freedom Front. For those who have yet to meet her, this is Michelle Dessler, our new IP-MAN. Michelle will fill us in on our current intel regarding this group."

Tony slid the data projector controller across the table to Michelle, and brought up her presentation. Michelle launched into her report summary, bringing up images of the group members briefly. Once Michelle had concluded her report, Tony ran through the various search protocols to be initiated and requested hourly progress updates. Michelle rose and headed back to her workstation; she was tasked with continuing her current search protocol and had been assigned two analysts to assist her. She quickly checked the progress of her current search protocol before opening a socket and dividing up her workload between Milo and Katherine. As was her habit, she walked across to each of the analyst's workstations to check that they had received the data and understood their tasks. Back at her desk, she accelerated her efforts to obtain as much data as possible on the PFF group members.

….

4:35pm

"Michelle."

Michelle looked up from the data she was analysing; Tony and another man she didn't recognise were standing alongside her workstation.

"This is Phil Henley; the evening shift IP-MAN," Tony said, indicating towards his companion.

Standing up, Michelle shook hands with Phil.

"You'll need to bring Phil up to speed on all current searches," Tony continued.

"Unless something new comes up, the searches should all be complete within a couple of hours. Do you need me to stay and finish them up?" Michelle enquired.

"No, just make sure Phil knows where to locate all the data and exactly what tasks are still to be completed. You're not the only person capable of running a search protocol," Tony instructed, before abruptly turning back to his own workstation.

Rather shocked, Michelle turned towards Phil and asked, "Did Tony brief you on the active protocol?"

"No, I got the impression that Tony was overloaded", Phil replied.

Michelle nodded. Tony was running tactical for Tom Baker from Field Ops; they were charged with the massive task of mounting surveillance on all 15 known PFF group members. The stress of the situation was probably the reason for his outburst.

Starting out with the details of the current terrorist threat, Michelle reviewed all the intel and subsequent search protocols for the PFF group members. Twenty minutes later, assured that Phil was up to date on all protocols, Michelle collected her bag and said good night. Turning to leave, she noticed Tony out of the corner of her eye; he was standing in front of his computer with a furrowed brow. She walked across to his workstation and stopped just off to the side. Once again, Tony spotted her presence almost immediately and asked, "Everything all set?"

"Yes, Phil is running the final search protocols. Are there any additional tasks you require me to complete before leaving?"

"Everything's under control. At the moment, it's mostly a matter of logistics and division of manpower. However, in the next couple of days when the data starts coming in you'll have your chance to prove your worth. For now, I would make the most of the relative tranquillity and go home."

"OK. You should try and take your own advice there," Michelle suggested in response.

"I'll see what I can do. Good night," Tony replied with a slight hint of a smile.

"Night."

…

6:03pm

Michelle glanced at the clock as she pulled into her parking spot; she and Andy had karate training this evening. Entering their apartment, she called out, "Andy, are you home?"

The question was answered in the negative by the silence that followed. Michelle headed through to her bedroom and changed into a pair of comfortable tracksuit pants and tee shirt, before entering the kitchen to grab a Diet Coke. Sipping her drink, she then walked into the Dining Room, which had been converted into a training area with mats on the floor and a variety of different fitness equipment. Her mind was still working overtime processing all the information she had obtained that day, so she decided a little light exercise would allow her to relax and focus her mind on something other than work. She immediately walked across to the six-foot wooden stick, the bo, leaning against the far wall. It was Michelle's favourite karate weapon. After a couple of quick sips, she placed her drink in the corner and started working through her warm-up exercises before practising a variety of advanced defensive techniques. She was half way through her third combination when she heard the front door open. Ignoring the interruption she focused on her training and finished to find Andy standing watching her.

"You're not twisting your wrist enough on the strikes," Andy critiqued.

Michelle repeated the move, focusing on the wrist flick that was essential for generating the power behind the attack.

"That's better. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No, I was going to grab a sandwich on the way to training," Michelle responded.

Glancing at her watch, Andy replied, "We still have time for a quick meal; how about a stir fry?"

"OK." Michelle returned the bo to its place and followed Andy into the kitchen to help chop the vegetables.

"So, how was your first day?" Andy asked once preparations were in full swing.

Michelle paused for a minute to consider her response, "Interesting but overwhelming. There are a lot of procedures and protocols to learn while trying to preform them co-currently."

"How about your colleagues?"

"Well, I met most of the IT team and everyone seemed pleasant. Things are very busy at the moment and everyone was focused on their own tasks. I only worked closely with a couple of the analysts, Milo and Katherine."

"How about Mr Strong and Silent?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow as she added the vegetables to the hot wok.

Shaking her head, Michelle collected bowls and chopsticks as she responded, "We spent a considerable amount of time working together this morning. He's warms up a bit on acquaintance, but is more sarcastic and cynical than you are. However, he really seems to value my work, unlike that parasite Carrie."

"I'm psyched to hear that the new job is working out better than the last one", Andy said. "OK, dinner's ready. That gives us about thirteen minutes to eat, change and get out of here." All conversation ceased as they rushed to make it on time; Michelle couldn't help but think that time seemed to be moving faster than she could keep up with.


	3. Wednesday: First Clues

Wednesday: _First clues_

10.25am

"Dammit," Tony exclaimed.

Michelle looked up from her current task and glanced across at Tony's workstation. He had momentarily frozen, eyes fixed on his monitor in a study of disbelief. Seconds later he was a hive of activity: franticly typing away at his keyboard, checking a file on his desk, making a phone call. Michelle considered enquiring into his reaction but quickly checked her curiosity, deciding that he would ask for assistance if required.

Minutes later Michelle noticed that Tony, manila folder in hand, was heading upstairs to George's office. Michelle couldn't help but wonder what was going on, and why she was being kept out of the loop. Reminding herself that trust had to be earned, she attempted to return her attention to her own sizable workload. The global surveillance on the PFF was generating an excessive amount of data, which seemed to increase exponentially as the hours passed. Yet not a single viable lead had been discovered. Michelle couldn't help but wonder whether they were on a wild goose chase; the only intel against the group was vague and non-specific. She completed the partitioning of the sub-directory for the latest data up-link from Field Ops without much expectation.

The third distraction came in the form of Tony himself. She was in the midst of a rather difficult file conversion, the FBI archived files in a format incompatible with the CTU network, when she became suddenly aware of someone standing behind her. Turning in her chair, she found herself facing Tony.

"Surveillance turned up a lead. You'll need to offload all your current searches; I'm going to need you working with me. We have a briefing of all department heads in the Situation Room in five minutes, make sure you're clear to go by then," Tony explained.

"OK. I'll get right onto it," Michelle answered. Turning back to her computer, she rapidly completed the file conversion and sent it, along with search protocol instructions to Milo. She then proceeded to pass her other current protocols to Katherine. Michelle stopped by each of their desks to ensure they had everything under control before making her way to the Situation Room where she took a place near the head of the table. Seconds later, once the last person had entered the room, George commenced the meeting.

"We have just received our first solid lead that PFF is planning an attack. Tony will brief you on the details we have so far."

Turning in his seat so that he was angled towards most of those assembled around the table, Tony brought an image up on the data projector and began his address.

"Twenty minutes ago Jake Fareed, one of the founding members of PFF, met with this man, Stepannos Kakussian," Tony inclined his head towards the image of two men huddled together in a corner booth of a restaurant. An ID photo of one of the men followed as Tony continued, "Kakussian is an Armenian microbiologist formally with Biopreparat in Russia. Our intel on Kakussian's work at Biopreparat is limited but it's believed he was involved in their offensive biological warfare program Ferment before it's dissolution in 1992. We currently suspect that he is working in Iran. INS records have him entering the country through LAX five days ago. At this stage it is unclear who is running this operation or exactly what it entails but the possibility of a sophisticated biological attack needs to be investigated."

Finishing his briefing, Tony resettled himself and George concluded the meeting with instructions for this information to be added to all search profiles and any leads pertaining to this biological threat to be immediately reported to Tony. Everyone rose from the conference table to return to their work. However, Michelle remained in her seat directly across from Tony, who had turned towards George to discuss the search options.

"All our data suggests that Kakussian is a contractor. It's likely that he has been providing intel to set up a biological attack and is now here in person to oversee its implementation. Obviously it's essential that we determine the nature of this attack but there is still the matter of who conceived, and financed, this operation. It's highly unlikely that PFF had the funding, motivation or contacts to pull off something of this magnitude," Tony stated.

George nodded while replying, "I agree with your assessment. I've already spoken with Ryan and he's prepared to have Division assist with the work up of this threat. We'll follow up on Kakussian and his involvement with PFF and Division can search for the architect behind this attack. You'll need to mirror everything we have on Kakussian to Division and keep them up to speed on any developments. I'll liase with CDC regarding deployment and containment scenarios."

"That works for me. I'll send everything we have so far and update Division every fifteen minutes. When you speak to Chappelle make sure he gets someone working on the money trail."

George rose as he responded, "Ryan's the expert at tracing financial transactions; I'll ask him to handle it personally."

Tony nodded to George's retreating back and turned to face Michelle.

"I'm still running tactical for surveillance on PFF; they're likely to be involved in the carrying out the attack. I'm going to need you on Kakussian. All the intel we have so far is on directory 11 lambda; we need to uncover everything there is to know about him, especially any tells on exactly what he is planning and where he is working from. Make sure you update me every fifteen minutes so I can keep Division in the loop."

"I'll get straight on it. Did surveillance pick up a number plate for Kakussian's vehicle or a location where he is staying?" Michelle responded.

"He arrived and left on foot; he probably left his vehicle a couple of blocks away."

"You think he suspected surveillance?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Tony commented, "Most professional terrorists are extremely cautious and not willing to trust any of their contacts."

Michelle nodded sensing that Tony's reference was about more than just Kakussian. Deciding that it was best for both of them to refocus on the task at hand, she rose glancing at her watch and stated, "I'll have that first update in fifteen minutes."

…

1:50pm

Over two frustrating hours and five futile reports later, Michelle sat at her monitor rubbing her throbbing temples. A dozen searches had generated a vast amount of information, which yielded nothing but more questions. She needed a fresh approach but in order to do that she first required food to settle her rumbling stomach and pounding head. Michelle had a sandwich in her bag but really wanted a pick-me-up. Grabbing her purse, she made her way to the vending machine located in the break room to buy a coke and a chocolate bar. By the time she had returned to her desk, the coke was half finished and she had just about demolished the chocolate bar.

Feeling sated, Michelle re-evaluated the intel she had gathered on Kakussian. While she had collated a considerably detailed bio of Kakussian's career progression through Biopreparat, the information was vague and provided no real idea as to the precise organisms with which he had worked. However, the ambiguous position and project titles were descriptive enough to provide the distressing picture of a highly trained scientist with specific skills in both the handling and genetic manipulation of bacteria. Exactly what projects Kakussian was employing these skills for in Iran could only be assumed, as details after his departure from Russia were sparse.

Michelle had also been unable to find any trace of hotel or car reservations under Kakussian's name and no suggestions in his background to any contacts in LA. INS records showed that he had visited the US twice before, once in 1988 while he was still working for Biopreparat and then again in 2002 after his move to Iran. The purpose for both trips was listed as business, specifically to attend the American Society for Microbiology annual conferences. Further searching found these to be general microbiological meetings covering a wide range of fields. Low-level surveillance had been initiated on Kakussian's 2002 visit by Homeland Security but had failed to identify any suspicious meetings or activities. No major, or even minor, terrorist attacks corresponded with either of his US visits. It appeared to Michelle that Kakussian's visits were benign opportunities to keep current with the latest scientist research.

Determining the organism Kakussian worked on, thus the exact nature of the biological threat would be essential to stopping the attack, or as a worst-case scenario, for containment. Michelle decided her best option was to widen her search parameters. Scientific research was global, and Kakussian spoke a number of languages that would enable him to attend conferences in various countries. Logging into Interpol, Michelle was able to access EU immigration databases and compile a list of various European countries he had visited during his career. She then proceeded to cross correlate these locations with surveillance data from the relevant overseas intelligence agencies. Ten minutes later, she had her answer and her first viable lead. Having just sent her latest report, she now had twelve minutes before the next one. Tony never presented unsubstantiated data, and subsequently had little tolerance for such sloppiness in others. While Kakussian's conference attendance suggested his area of interest, Michelle needed direct evidence that he was actively working in this field.

Staring at her third failed attempt to track down conference notes, Michelle felt her headache returning. Pausing for a moment, she grabbed a couple of aspirins from her bag and washed them down with the remaining portion of her forgotten can of coke. In order to distract herself long enough for the medications to work, she focused on confirming her intel. Living with a microbiologist, Michelle understood the importance of communication of results within the scientific community; _publish or perish_ was the catch phase Andy always proclaimed. Suddenly Michelle realised that was her answer. Tapping away at her keyboard she located PubMed, the international database of medical publications, and entered Kakussian's name. Seconds later, Michelle was looking at a list of twenty-four journal articles, most of which where dated between 1981 and 1992 during Kakussian's time at Biopreparat. Many of the articles where in Russian, but several were published in English. Working though the unexpected amount of data that her search had returned, Michelle's train of thought was interrupted by someone marching up to her workstation. A quick glance at the clock at the bottom of her screen confirmed her suspicion; her report was now one minute late. Turning to face an irate Tony, Michelle spoke up before he could begin his expected tirade.

"I've determined that Kakussian's area of speciality is _Shigella dysenteriae_, a food-borne pathogen classified as a Category B biological weapon. I just need another minute to work up the intel for the report."

"OK, but I'm expecting that report within the next five minutes," Tony responded curtly.

Nodding as she turned back to her screen, Michelle reabsorbed herself in her work. Three and a half minutes later, the report was in the appropriate directory and Michelle was walking over to Tony's workstation. The report was already up on his monitor when Michelle arrived; Tony raised his hand to indicate that he needed a couple of minutes to finish reading.

"I'll forward your report through to Division, then assemble everyone for a crisis meeting. Brief George on the situation and find out the status of CDC's containment protocols."

"OK," Michelle responded making her way up to George's office with a sense of purpose, and the feeling they were making progress for the first time that day.

…

7:25pm

"What are you still doing here?" Tony enquired bluntly.

Looking up from her work, Michelle replied, "Trying to get a fix on possible targets."

"Our best chance of determining the target is through tracking PFF and Kakussian. You were assigned to locating Kakussian."

"Phil's working on that search protocol," Michelle commented tilting her head to indicate the workstation to her right where Phil had situated himself to work up the active protocols. "You're also working back late."

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure all the phone taps were in place before I left for the day."

Michelle nodded. As was evident by her presence at this late hour, she could relate to Tony's desire to see his project through to completion. Based on surveillance data, Tony had identified six PFF members whose behaviour patterns suggested possible involvement in illicit activities. Teams had been dispatched to set up phone taps of each of these members to allow for great scrutiny of their activities.

"Conscientiousness can be an overrated characteristic," George commented wirily.

Michelle turned, noting that George, with his briefcase in hand, was obviously ready to leave for the day. He continued, "Given the latest intel, I'd recommend getting some rest while you can; tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"I just stopped to give that same advice to Michelle, then I'll bring Phil up to speed and leave myself," Tony informed George.

"You don't have to justify your workaholic tendencies; just make sure you're energised and alert for tomorrow." Nodding his good bye to each of them in turn, George departed.

Pausing to rub his face, Tony allowed a brief smirk to cross his face before turning to address Michelle, "Seeing as you're here, you might as well join in my briefing with Phil."

Michelle followed Tony across to Phil's workstation, who had turned to face them having caught the end of their conversation.

"Phil, you're aware of the current status of the PFF surveillance?" Tony enquired.

"Of course, Michelle filled me in on the details during change-over."

"One of the phone taps we initiated earlier has yielded some intel. A conversation between Rustam and Akbar took place fifteen minutes ago during which they referred to a final planning meeting tomorrow at 3 pm. Given our current information on PFF, we are assuming that this meeting relates to the attack. Make sure your search protocols reflect this new intel."

"Will do," Phil replied with a nod, returning immediately to his work.

Tony then spoke directly to Michelle, "At this point it's unlikely that we will locate Kakussian or identify the target through data mining. We'll have to track them through PFF. George is right, you should head home. Tomorrow is going to be gruelling and we're going to need everyone operating at their peak."

After a quick deliberation of the situation, Michelle decided that she agreed with Tony and George's assessment. "OK, good night."

"Night, Michelle."

…

8:25pm

Unlocking the apartment door, Michelle was greeted by the delicious smell of a home cooked meal. Her stomach grumbled as she glanced at her watch, rather surprised at how late it was yet completely at a loss as to where the day had gone. Heading straight to the kitchen, she entered to see Andy seated at the island bar with a huge bowl of chilli and a family sized pack of corn chips.

"Perfect timing, the chilli just came off the stove. Help yourself."

Dumping her bag on the side bench, Michelle grabbed a bowl and went to help herself to some dinner. Chilli was Andy's favourite meal, however the combined facts that it was a mild September night and the mountain of corn chips accompanying dinner were instantly telling.

"So I guess you also had a bad day?" Michelle asked as she joined Andy at the island bar.

"My bacteria decided not to grow, which turned out not to be a problem because my tissue culture cells were contaminated anyway. Then I proceeded to set up 96 PCRs, without the enzyme required to drive the reaction. And to cap it all off, the supermarket was out of Ben and Jerry's Fudge Brownie so I had to settle for Cookie Dough."

"Corn chips _and_ ice cream?" Michelle responded as she helped herself to some corn chips.

"Yeah, and you better make sure you leave room for dessert because I'm going to need you to save me from myself."

"You could always leave some for another day," Michelle pointed out rationally.

"Hey, are you suggesting that I don't have the gumption to devour both the corn chips and ice cream? I never shy away from a challenge," Andy retaliated.

Michelle couldn't help but laugh at Andy's convoluted logic, and felt herself relax for the first time that day.

"So, let's hear your gripes, or aren't they in my league?"

Michelle sighed, wishing Andy hadn't brought up the subject. Not only did it drag her thoughts back to the threat, but it raised an ethical dilemma; Michelle's work was classified and couldn't be discussed. However, Andy's expertise in microbiology could prove to be beneficial, especially given that CTU was essentially clueless as to probable targets.

"You know I can't talk about my work, so let's talk about yours. I have a hypothetical question for you." Pausing to ensure she had Andy's attention, Michelle continued playfully, "As part of your scheme for world domination, you are plotting to release a biological weapon. You have chosen _Shigella dysenteriae_ for this task. What method of distribution would you select?"

"OK, just for the record, if I was going to unleash a biological weapon I wouldn't divulge my plans to a federal agent and I wouldn't pick _Shigella_."

"Why not? It's highly infectious and symptoms can occur within 24 hours," Michelle commented pragmatically.

"_Shigella_ predominately spreads through contaminated food, intentional or otherwise. Certainly infection can occur with only 10 bacteria, but person-to-person spread only happens with poor hygiene. Bacillary dysentery, the form of gastro caused by _Shigella_, may be rather unpleasant as it results in bloody mucoid diarrhoea but it's non-fatal and is normally resolved within 2-3 days without antibiotics."

"What exactly is bloody mucoid diarrhoea, or shouldn't I ask?"

"Given that you currently eating, you might not want to," Andy responded with a smirk.

"Remember the invasion assays?"

"The experiment you would have done today if your bacteria had grown and the tissue culture cells weren't contaminated," Michelle recalled.

"Those tissue culture cells represent the lining of your colon. _Shigella_ invades and prevents them from absorbing food, which causes diarrhoea. Then your immune system comes along and kills the infected cells adding blood and mucus to the mix. _Shigella_ holds the diarrhoeal record: 20 litres, that's about 5 gallons, in 24 hours."

At her last comment Andy turned to watch Michelle push her remaining dinner aside. Feeling slightly sick, Michelle moved the conversation onto safer ground, "Given that disgusting description, I think _Shigella_ would definitely create terror if released. How difficult would it be to contaminate food?"

"It's simple, just add bacteria to prepared food. There was an intentional outbreak of a similar bacteria,_ Salmonella_, in Oregon in the mid 80's; a religious commune added it to salad bars in 10 restaurants and over 700 people became sick."

"Could the bacteria be modified to make it fatal or cause it to spread from person to person?" Michelle asked, voicing the fear she had harboured since reading Kakussian's bio.

"You're talking about completely re-engineering the bacteria; theoretically it's possible but practically it's science fiction."

"Even for someone trained in manipulating DNA?" Michelle queried.

"Those changes involve complex multi-gene pathways, which scientists are still trying to understand, let alone manipulate. Modifications can be made to increase the symptoms or duration of the infection but it will still remain a non-fatal food poisoning. Obviously I want to ensure that everyone lives to see me rule the world."

"That's the most terrifying thought yet," Michelle replied, deciding it was time to turn the conversation onto a lighter note. Thanks to Andy, she now had enough information to alleviate her concerns, and to help tackle tomorrow's search protocols.

**Disclaimer:** This chapter contains a number of scientific details, all of which are factual; this information remains the intellectual property of the relevant authors.


	4. Thursday: The Plot Thickens

**A/N:** Apologies for the delay in posting, unfortunately I've been obliged to devote my time and energy into writing of the academic genre. However with my chapter two thesis draft complete, I am now able to return to the world of biological threats.

Thursday: _The Plot Thickens_

7:05am

Flashing her ID, and a brief smile, at the security guard, Michelle entered CTU almost an hour early. She had woken up well before her alarm and spent ten minutes replaying the previous evening's conversation in order to analyse it from every imaginable angle to uncover a clue for a probable target. At which point she decided that she may as well get up and go into work. At CTU, she would have access to all the assembled information, as well as the necessary resources to turn her ideas into data searches. It would be more productive than killing time until her alarm sounded.

As Michelle walked across the bullpen, she glanced around at the few occupied desks; the graveyard shift had the least staff, most of whom she hadn't met. Just short of her desk, she caught sight of a familiar face.

"You did go home last night, didn't you?" Michelle enquired.

"I'm not still wearing the same clothes," Tony pointed out sarcastically.

Casting her eye over him, Michelle recalled that he was indeed right. Yesterday he had been wearing a burgundy shirt that suited his complexion better than the grey one he now had on. His shirtsleeves were also still buttoned indicating that he hadn't been working long, as he rapidly rolled them up and out of the way once he settled into work.

"You could have a change in your locker."

"Actually I do and I'd recommend that you do likewise; this isn't exactly a 9-to-5 job", Tony commented. "As for your earlier question, I just arrived myself. I'm an early riser and usually go for a run but with the current situation I decided to save my energy and gain a couple of extra hours in the day. What's your excuse?"

"I was awake and I'm still not convinced that we have exhausted the data searches for probable targets. In order to release the bacteria, one of the PFF members must have access to a commercial or industrial kitchen. I want to take another pass at the intel before I get swamped with active protocols."

"Like I said last night, I don't think there is much chance of identifying the target via search protocols but since you're on your own time, go ahead and try. Just make sure you check in with Chris first," Tony informed her, before returning to his work.

Michelle headed straight to Chris Williams' station, the graveyard IP-MAN, to be briefed. Fifteen minutes later she was booting up a laptop on a spare desk. A considerable amount of surveillance data had been collected the previous evening, petering out as the various members had retired to bed. After taking the time to familiarise herself with all the new intel, which had not yielded any suggestions as to a location for either Kakussian or the attack, Michelle began her search. Logically the most likely means of kitchen access was via employment. Full employment histories for all the PFF members had been completed during the initial search protocols and no direct link had been identified. However, this did not deter Michelle who was determined to further dissect their exact job duties in the hope of shedding some light on a probable target. She started with Akbar and Rustam, the two members who came to CTU's attention the previous evening via the phone taps. Michelle commenced detailed searches on each of their employer's to elicit full job descriptions, specific work locations and any other sites they may be required to frequent. Both of these men, a truck driver and a security guard respectively, had only been with their current employers for a couple of months. Everything indicated that somehow they had positioned themselves for access to the target kitchen. Now it was just a matter of following the threads to find that target.

…

11:55am

A familiar beep alerted Michelle that one of the five search protocols she was running was complete. With the ongoing surveillance of the PFF members, the amount of continuous data to analyse was enormous and even with the assistance of both Katherine and Milo, Michelle was drowning in information. She quickly finished scanning the fruitless results in front of her and bought up the next search results; the only thing more frustrating than the vastness of intel she was collating, was the complete lack of useful details within it. Looking at the latest data, it took her a minute to recall what exactly it pertained to and then a further minute to grasp the impact of the intel.

A slight smile crossed her face as Michelle allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction. She had dogmatically followed her instincts, resulting in the first solid lead towards a probable target. Reaching for the phone, her hand was just millimetres away from the handset when it rang. She immediately snatched up the receiver and responded curtly, eager to dismiss the caller quickly and begin mapping out the next step with Tony.

"CTU, Dessler"

"From now on you're answering all calls during dinner, that tone is guaranteed to scare off telemarketers," Andy replied.

"Sorry Andy, things are crazy here," Michelle explained.

"I wont keep you from preventing world abomination for long. I meant to remind you at breakfast, but you obviously left early, that tonight is Rosh Hashanah."

With Andy's family living in Upper State New York, Michelle always joined her to celebrate the Jewish holidays. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, would start tonight at sunset. However, the holiday continued until Friday evening which gave Michelle a second chance to attend the dinner as it was unlikely that she would be home at a reasonable hour tonight, especially considering the new lead she now had to follow. Suddenly Michelle felt the proverbial light blub illuminate; there was no way it was a coincidence, not with PFF carrying out the attack. It had been scheduled to coincide with the Jewish New Year, which would mean that the target probably had a Jewish connection. With a fervent need to return to work, Michelle quickly passed on her excuses to Andy.

"I really sorry Andy but there is no way I'm going to be home in time tonight. I promise we'll celebrate twice as hard tomorrow, OK."

"I'll hold you to that. We discuss plans later."

"Bye, Andy," Michelle responded, barely registering Andy reply as she disconnected the call and dialled Tony's extension.

"CTU, Almeida." Michelle couldn't help but note that Tony responded with the same terse tone that she had minutes earlier, most probably because he too was swamped in work leaving little time or interest for distractions.

"I have a couple of new leads," Michelle explained, launching straight into the gist of the matter without bothering with formalities. "Samuel Akbar works as a truck driver for Freight Express whose customers include the McKenzie Group, a corporate catering supply company. Also, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts tonight and runs through until tomorrow night making this the likely timeframe for the attack. How do you want me to proceed?"

"How did these leads come to fruition?" Tony enquired.

"The connection between Akbar and the McKenzie Group came from the data mining searches for a probable target, and I was reminded about Rosh Hashanah by a friend who just called."

"We have a constant stream of surveillance information that needs to be analysed and you've been running inactive search protocols and making personal calls?" Tony rudely surmised.

Michelle paused for a minute to digest what Tony had just said. She couldn't believe it, she had been working non-stop since 7:20 this morning. Her only break was the five minutes it had taken to move from her temporary desk to her workstation upon Chris's departure at the end of his shift. She couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vous; it was her job interview over again. Well she hadn't stood for his false insinuations then and she wouldn't now. "All active protocols are current and Katherine, Milo and I are processing every piece of surveillance information as soon as it is obtained. I've been pursuing the target, as we discussed this morning, during whatever short breaks I've had during the day. Unfortunately with the overwhelming active workload, I haven't been able to devote much time to the search so it's taken this long to finish tracking this lead."

"Hand all your active protocols across to Milo and make sure that he has all the database details and access codes to run the surveillance analysis. I'll pull someone from IT to help him and Katherine manage the workload," Tony directed Michelle.

"I'll get right on it," Michelle replied calmly. So this was it; she hadn't even lasted a week at CTU. Well, she had given the job her best; no one could ask more of her than that.

"Once that's done, you need to work up a list of companies that will receive deliveries of McKenzie group products in the next two days. Make sure you cross reference those companies with all our current intel and also check for any Jewish links. "

"OK," Michelle answered, hanging up the phone and letting out a breath she hadn't even realised she was holding. Her first impression of Tony was right, he was a cipher but this wasn't the time to try and understand his behaviour. Pushing this train of thought aside for another time and place, Michelle started to organise all the surveillance protocols for transfer. The sooner she could hand that tedious task across to Milo, the sooner she could continue tracking her leads though to their conclusion.

…

2:50 pm

"Michelle," George's voice broke through her concentration. As she turned in his direction, he continued, "Ryan has arrived; we are setting up in the situation room to follow the surveillance of the final planning meeting in real time." Ryan Chappelle had come from Division to monitor how the situation would unfold and assess the threat level in order to determine CTU's response. Extra personnel had been assigned to Akbar's and Rustam's surveillance teams and Baker had a mobile assault team, with a CDC biocontainment unit, prepped and ready for action if required. Tony was coordinating tactical and satellite communication and Michelle would be assisting him once the operation commenced.

"OK, I'm on my way," Michelle responded. With a couple of keystrokes, Michelle locked down her computer, grabbed the manila folder containing her most recent briefing report and headed across the bullpen to join the others. The previous three hours had passed in a blur of data searches, phone calls and meetings as her leads had proved profitable, yielding a clearer picture of the planed attack. One of the companies receiving a morning delivery of McKenzie catering products was a large manufacturing plant in Burbank. Irrigation Solutions was a subsidiary of a multinational conglomerate whose technical engineering offices were based in Haifa, Israel. This was also the same company for which Rustam worked as a cleaner.

Entering the situation room Michelle slipped into the seat alongside Tony, who was in the process of confirming and mapping the locations of all the PFF members. Seconds later the plotted schematic from Tony's monitor was projected on the situation room screen and he began his briefing, "At this point it looks like this meeting will take place somewhere in Burbank district. Fareed, Akbar and Rustam are all currently in this general area, along with a fourth member, Ali Shamsher. Satellite is being re-directed for maximum coverage of this area."

"Shamsher works as a security guard in Burbank so his presence in the area could be incidental," Michelle supplied.

At this point, the marker for Shamsher flashed red, indicating that he had stopped moving. Tony immediately established communication with the agents tailing Shamsher and confirmed his location, a deserted storage warehouse.

"Looks like he is involved and the warehouse is the probable meeting place. We'll know in the next couple of minutes," Tony replied. Indeed, three minutes later Fareed, Akbar and Rustam had all arrived and entered the deserted warehouse. Both the agents following these members, and Baker's team, situated themselves in concealed locations around the warehouse and set up their electronic equipment. However, the combination of background noise from surrounding warehouses and factories, and the corrigated metal sheeting sealing the run-down meeting site did not allow their listening devices to function.

Monitoring satellite imaging, Michelle's actions were limited by the interior location of the meeting. She was able to confirm Kakussian's arrival five minutes after the four PFF members. At this point Baker radioed in to request permission to send a man in for a closer look, to which Chappelle acceded on the proviso that the agent remain invisible. Agent Parker soon reported that after a brief conversation, Kakussian handed across small juice containers to Akbar, Rustam and Shamsher, before turning to leave. Now that it was clear that Kakussian had delivered the biological weapon across to the PFF members, Chappelle ordered Baker's team to converge and capture Kakussian, the four PFF members and the weapon.

"Hold on a moment Ryan," Tony interceded. "We have identified the company targeted; we know which PFF members are going to release the weapon and how two of them have the access to do so. We have successfully maintained surveillance on those men for two days now and can apprehend them at any time. Our best chance of finding out who is behind this attack is to maintain our surveillance."

"Sir, Tony's right. These men are amateurs, we can easily keep them in sight and even insert agents undercover to switch out the biological weapons so that we can follow who they report to after the attack," Baker stated over his com unit.

"Fine. Baker, your team is to take Kakussian into custody covertly. The surveillance teams are to resume monitoring the various members," Chappelle instructed. "Almeida, I want you to question Kakussian when he comes in. Make sure our agents are closely watching those four PFF members and establish a surveillance team at the Irrigation Solutions factory. Any sign of an imminent attack, they are to immediately arrest the PFF members and secure the weapon."

"Should we inform security at Irrigation Solutions of the threat?" Michelle enquired.

"No, this operation is to remain covert," Chappelle answered and rose to leave. George stood up after him and added to Michelle, "Shamsher's employment as a security guard is an additional problem. You need to go back over all the intel and find the missing connection to Irrigation Solutions. He wouldn't have been given the weapon if he couldn't deploy it."

"OK," Michelle replied as they departed. After checking with Tony that he didn't require her assistance any longer, she wearily returned to her station. The day, which was far from over, had been draining and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that George had focused on the link she missed rather than the three she had discovered. With a brief sigh, she decided to take a detour to the break room; a five-minute rest and some chocolate should help improve her mood.

…

4:05pm

Entering the interrogation room Michelle looked around, taking in a scene that was completely foreign; her work at Division had never involved any first hand interaction with field operations. Mason, Chappelle and Baker were standing in front of a two-way glass intently watching Tony question Kakussian while Brian, an IT tech, was seated at a computer monitoring a host of biological and surveillance feeds.

"Has Kakussian said anything?" Michelle asked.

"He has confirmed the nature of the biological weapon and that he provided the group with three containers which could easily contaminate tens of thousands of people. However, as we suspected he's just a contractor and isn't aware of the details of the attack or who is behind it," George answered turning to face Michelle. "What have you found out about Shamsher?" George questioned in turn.

"Shamsher works for the security company that sub-contracts for Irrigation Solutions, although his current posting is at another factory. But he had dinner yesterday evening with a couple of colleagues including one of the security guards from Irrigation Solutions. It's possible that Shamsher infected him with some of the _Shigella_; it would provide an opportunity to get access to the factory, as well as confirming the infectivity of the biological weapon."

"Kakussian only handed the weapon over to PFF an hour ago," Chappelle commented dismissively.

"Kakussian met with Fareed on Wednesday at 10:00am, and Fareed subsequently met with Shamsher for lunch. I've reviewed the surveillance data of both meetings and wasn't able to detect a hand-over but our agents were keeping a discrete distance on both occasions."

Tom Baker looked at Michelle with interest for a second and then suggested, "We could question Kakussian about it. If he did supply a test sample and it's already been used on someone, it would give us some extra leverage to use against him."

"Brian, patch us through to Tony's comm. unit," Chappelle ordered. "Almeida, we have some new information to suggest that Kakussian may have supplied Fareed with a test sample of the _Shigella_ prior to today."

On the other side of the glass Tony, who had imperceivably angled himself towards them, nodded slightly. Rising to his feet in a fluid, rapid movement Tony slammed both hands against the table millimetres from Kakussian with a bang. Then he lent in sharply forcing the other man to unconsciously flinch backwards the short distance his handcuffs would allow him to move. "Tell me about the test sample of the weapon you provided to Fareed," he demanded harshly.

"It was part of the contract; I was to give the principle customer a 1ml sample on our initial meeting," Kakussian responded. This was the first time Michelle had heard Kakussian's voice, and she was rather shocked to note that he spoke with a soft, lightly accented tone that was almost mundane. Not at all like the villain she had envisaged from the intel she had collected on him.

George's voice brought Michelle's thoughts back to the present situation, "You seem to have an aptitude for field ops. Now that you've completed the search on Shamsher, you can assist Baker to set up the undercover profiles for the switch operation?" George looked across at Tom, who nodded his consent.

"Of course," Michelle answered, feeling flustered at both the complement and the new situation she was being thrown into. When she applied for this position Michelle had realised, and looked forward to, the new skills she would learn but she was unprepared for the accelerated learning curve that she was currently tackling. As she followed Baker out of the interrogation room, she was thankful for the relentless pace on one account, it didn't allow her much time to fret over any feelings of inadequacy for long.

…

11:58pm

Michelle rapidly crossed the bullpen to the conference room where a station had been set up to monitor the on-going operation. CTU had contacted the janitorial service at Irrigation Solutions, and under the guise of an INS investigation into illegal aliens, had inserted an agent onto the 12:00 to 8:00am shift alongside Rustam. A second agent would be replacing one of the security guards on the 8:00am to 4:00pm shift Shamsher was expected to cover; the security company manager had been accommodating to the FBI request to investigate industrial espionage accusations. Baker and his team had left CTU an hour ago to set up a staging area a block from Irrigation Solutions to monitor the operation and intervene if necessary. Michelle had been left with the task of finding an opportunity to place an agent on Akbar, whose delivery company never used two staff for deliveries.

Tony and George were seated side by side at the conference table perusing the latest surveillance data on the monitor in front of them. Michelle entered, walking up and placing a manila folder on the table between them. Both men looked up at her, and she began her explanation, "I've found a way to insert an agent to cover Akbar. Irrigation Solutions is scheduled for an annual Department of Health Services check of their kitchen facilities this month. The health check is always held prior to the food service which would be around 10:30am when the kitchen staff arrive to commence preparations. This puts the health inspector in the kitchen at the same time Akbar is expected to make his delivery. I've included a bio of Helen Fielding, the district health inspector, in the report."

Reaching for the manila folder, Tony opened it. Both his and George's attention was immediately drawn to the enclosed photograph of the health inspector, a rather severe looking brunette whose overall resemblance to Michelle was undeniable. Returning to meet her gaze, Tony abruptly stated, "No way."

12:00am… _to be continued_ …


	5. Friday: Ready for Action

Friday: _Ready for Action_

**A/N:** I have repeated, in italics below, the first half of the conversation that concluded the previous chapter:

_Tony and George were seated side by side at the conference table perusing the latest surveillance data on the monitor in front of them. Michelle entered, walking up and placing a manila folder on the table between them. Both men looked up at her, and she began her explanation, "I've found a way to insert an agent to cover Akbar. Irrigation Solutions is scheduled for an annual Department of Health Services check of their kitchen facilities this month. The health check is always held prior to the food service which would be around 10:30am when the kitchen staff arrive to commence preparations. This puts the health inspector in the kitchen at the same time Akbar is expected to make his delivery. I've included a bio of Helen Fielding, the district Health Inspector, in the report."_

_Reaching for the manila folder, Tony opened it. Both his and George's attention was immediately drawn to the enclosed photograph of the health inspector, a rather severe looking brunette whose overall resemblance to Michelle was undeniable. Returning to meet her gaze, Tony abruptly stated, "No way." _

…

12:00am

"Don't you think we should allow Michelle to outline her idea before shooting it down?" George asked rhetorically.

Looking from George's intrigued expression to Tony's taut one, Michelle took a moment to refocus and let the tension dissipate, before recommencing her briefing. "The health inspection lasts between 30 to 45 minutes and involves a detailed examination of procedures for the preparation and storage of food. The arrival of a delivery during the inspection would provide an ideal opportunity for the health inspector to scrutinise first-hand how food items are handled upon arrival."

"So what you are proposing to do is accurately impersonate a health inspector, to a manager who would have been through many such inspections, while covertly switching a replicate juice container for the concealed original, assuming that Shamsher hasn't already introduced its contents into the delivered products," Tony surmised sarcastically.

"Shamsher is unlikely to infect the unprepared food products with the _Shigella_ as it would be killed by appropriate cooking. He would need to add it to pre-cooked or ready to eat food awaiting serving in the kitchen. As for the inspection itself, they are highly regulated and follow strict listed guidelines so it should be simple to appear genuine," Michelle countered, careful to keep the frustration at Tony's attitude out of her voice.

"Tony has a valid point. The operation is risky, especially in the hands of someone without field ops experience," George commented. "However, it is also the only option we have at this time. Work up the details of the operation and make sure you consult with Baker. However, I want a concurrent search for other possibilities. Chris should have arrived for his shift, pass that protocol onto him and make sure he is aware of all the options that you have already considered. It would be preferable to insert a trained agent into a position were they would be alone with Akbar when the delivery arrives."

"OK. When do we have to make the final decision?" Michelle asked.

"After 8:00am. By that time we will have concluded the switch operation on Rustam and should have an agent inserted into the security duty with Shamsher," Tony answered.

Michelle nodded and returned to work.

…

8:05am

"When was the last time you ate something," Tony asked.

Michelle looked up blurredly, she'd been awake and working for 26 hours straight, her eyes were gritty and she had a dull pounding behind her temples.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Michelle responded.

"Grab the health inspector's operation briefing; we'll discuss it over breakfast."

"So the operation has the go ahead?" Michelle asked. Chris had come up with two alternative operation scenarios. However, he had already admitted to Michelle that both were more risky than her option. Even though she knew it was coming, part of her was surprised, especially with the initial resistance Tony had raised. Of course, if she was honest with herself, part of her wished that he would prevent her from going into the field. While she ardently believed in her duty towards her country, she was scared about the mission. She had been working in intelligence long enough to grasp the dangers of fieldwork.

"Yeah. Agent Martinez successfully switched Rustam's container and Agent O'Neil just started his security shift at Irrigation Solutions alongside Shamsher. Akbar is the last link."

Picking up the manila folder containing all the details she had collected, Michelle followed Tony across the bullpen. In her overfatigued state it took her a couple of minutes to realise they were headed in the opposite direction to the break room.

"Where are we going?" Michelle asked, unsure whether she had understood his earlier comment.

Looking across at Michelle over his shoulder, Tony smirked.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to ask," he answered without actually responding to her question.

By this time Michelle had deduced that they were headed to the car park.

"Are we heading to the staging area?" Michelle asked, hoping that a more specific question would result in an answer. Her confusion was beginning to give way to nervousness.

"No, we need to review the operational details first," Tony responded. He led Michelle across to his marked parking spot, and opened the passenger door to a black SUV.

Stopping in front of the door Michelle turned to face Tony and looked him straight in the eye. She appreciated that he was her boss, but she had had enough of his _need to know_ attitude.

"I'm not getting into the car until you tell me exactly where we are going and why," she stated firmly.

Meeting her gaze calmly, Tony replied, "To breakfast. It will take at least 30 minutes to go over the operational details, so given that we've both been in this building for over 24 hours, and haven't stopped for a real meal, I thought we could have the briefing at the diner down the street. They have a great breakfast special and you are going to need the energy for the mission."

Surprised by his thoughtfulness but unsure how to best respond, Michelle opted for a simple nod before taking her seat in the vehicle. Tony walked around to the driver's side and started the engine. An awkward silence filled the car. Michelle noticed that Tony was looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"So are you regretting taking this job yet?" he asked, rubbing his check.

Michelle couldn't help but smile as she replied, "It's been an interesting couple of days."

"Yeah."

Minutes later they were seated in a secluded corner booth, a large cup of hot coffee in front of them and breakfast orders placed. As the waitress left, Michelle opened the manila folder to commence the operation review. Now that she was out of the high stress environment of CTU, she was feeling much more relaxed, and ready for action.

Thirty-five minutes, several cups of coffee and an enormous breakfast later, Michelle had a clear operational outline and was feeling confident in her ability to accomplish her mission. As they rose to return to CTU, Tony turned to her, a serious expression on his face. "Remember, you're under no obligation to complete this mission. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, use the distress code and Baker will send in his team immediately. Our primary objective is to stop the attack, tracking those behind it is an auxiliary aim."

"I know my limits and wouldn't have volunteered for this mission if I didn't think I was capable of executing it," she responded, careful to keep her tone level. She was conflicted as to whether she should feel concerned that Tony, with his CTU experience, didn't think she could handle the mission or to feel angry that he thought her unable to complete a relatively simple, well-planned operation. Michelle decided to concentrate on her ire, as it would provide a source of motivation and energy to propel her through the mission.

Nodding, Tony continued towards the front door of the restaurant, ushering her through it and back to his car.

….

9:55am

"Michelle, the chopper is ready," George informed her.

"Just a minute," she replied and quickly finished transferring her active protocols to Chris who had stayed back as IP-MAN in Michelle's absence. Task complete, Michelle joined George and the two of them headed out to CTU's helipad where a helicopter was waiting to take her to the staging area to begin her mission.

As they walked along George continued, "Neither Tony or Tom are convinced that you can pull this off. So if you need it, back up will be ready. But my money's on you showing up the boys."

Michelle looked across at George slightly surprised, slightly flattered, "Thanks."

"Good luck," George offered in farewell as Michelle approached the helicopter.

Taking her seat, Michelle settled back and focused on calming her mind so she could give her undivided attention to the task ahead. George's support had boosted her confidence while his reminder of Tony's doubt had reignited her desire to prove herself competent.

Twenty-five minutes later, she was standing at the reception desk of Irrigation Solutions pinning a visitor's pass to the lapel of an ultra-conservative grey suit. With her hair pulled into a severe bun and some carefully applied make-up, she should easily be able to pass for Helen Fielding, the district Health Inspector, to an infrequent acquaintance.

"Ms Fielding."

Michelle turned around to face a middle-aged man she instantly recognised from the briefing photos as Brian Falta, the Food Operations Manager.

"Mr Falta," she replied extending her hand to shake his. Greetings accomplished, Mr Falta escorted Michelle towards the kitchen as he began to detail the meal services provided to the 20,000 employees at the Irrigation Solutions factory. Michelle was careful to listen intently and ask questions to clarify the details he was providing. Entering the kitchen, Michelle removed her clipboard from her briefcase, which contained a collection of items, such as thermometers for the inspection alongside the duplicate juice container. An official Department of Health Services Inspection form was attached to the clipboard. With a brief glance at the form, Michelle quickly confirmed the first guideline she needed to address and commenced her role as a Health Inspector.

…

10:42am

Michelle was in the midst of measuring the temperature of the food storage area as Baker's voice came over her comm unit. "Akbar has just passed security and is heading to the loading dock. Shamsher is currently patrolling that same area, so beware they may be planning a rendezvous. O'Neil has already planted the duplicate container on Shamsher and he's monitoring his actions as closely as possible."

Turning to Mr Falta, Michelle commented, "I understand that lunch must be your busiest shift; I'll try and make this process as rapid as possible."

Her words had the dual function of assuaging the Food Operations Manager while acknowledging Baker's intel. Before Mr Falta could reply, Karen Ashmor, the assistant chef who Michelle had been introduced to on commencing her inspection approached and informed him that the catering supplies delivery was arriving. Hastily jotting down the temperature, Michelle interrupted, "I've finished up here and everything is within normal operating parameters. I might join Ms Ashmor to observe that all the necessary receiving procedures are met."

"Of course, I'll leave you with Karen. You'll be able to find me in my office once you have finished the delivery inspection."

Nodding, Michelle grabbed her briefcase and followed Karen out to the loading dock in time to see Akbar jump down from his cab. Karen moved forward to meet him and began checking the delivery paperwork and recording items into the receipt log. Michelle positioned herself to the side where she had a clear view of Akbar unloading the goods. Just to the side of the boxes was a backpack in which Michelle assumed she would find the juice container. As Akbar followed Karen into the kitchen with the first load of boxes, Michelle stayed back to record various details onto her inspection form. Once they were out of site she quickly grabbed the duplicate container from her briefcase and ducked into the truck. Opening the backpack she saw the _Shigella_ filled container. Her heart pounding, she switched the containers making sure to safely stow the biological weapon in a double zip lock bag in her briefcase. Mission accomplished, she quietly uttered the appropriate code into the receiver of her comm unit that was attached to her lapel. Now it was just the simple matter of finishing her inspection.

Pausing before unloading the final box, Akbar stood directly in front of the backpack and although her vision of his actions was obscured, Michelle presumed that he was removing the container. Following behind him and Karen, she entered the storage area. In the midst of shifting boxes onto the indicated shelves, Akbar pointed out a box in the opposite corner that was sitting askew. Both Karen and Michelle turned, and as Karen righted the box, Michelle used the reflective stainless steal walls to watch Akbar empty the container into a tub of pre-sliced tomatoes.

Moments later, Akbar was returning to his truck while Michelle crossed the kitchen to locate Mr Falta so she could finish the inspection and return to CTU.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing?" an angry voice yelled out.

Michelle turned to spot one of the kitchen staff, hands on hips, staring at Shamsher who was in the process of emptying his container into a tub of coleslaw. Michelle hurried across to calm the irate kitchen hand before the mission was blown. However, Mr Falta arrived before her.

"What exactly are you adding to the coleslaw?" he demanded.

Shamsher stared silently at the Food Operations Manager. Michelle watched on, unsure how best to proceed. Before she could reach a decision, she was aware of Shamsher moving and started to call out a warning. Unfortunately she was too late. At the same moment her words were voiced, Shamsher's mag light connected with Mr Falta's skull sending him to the ground unconscious. At this point, chaos began to ensue as dozens of kitchen staff began to call out, their voices ranging from panic to anger. Judging that it was best to clear the area of civilians, Michelle called out over the din, "Everyone needs to calmly and quickly evacuate the kitchen."

Despite having no authority, the combination of her no-nonsense tone and the situation before them resulted in immediate compliance with her suggestion. Finding herself alone in the kitchen with Shamsher, Michelle began with the prearranged distress code, "Just to clarify… what do you think you are achieving by infecting innocent civilians?"

With a look of disdain, Shamsher replied, "With your narrow-minded Western outlook, you could never understand."

Fixated by the intense look of hatred on Shamsher's face, Michelle was slow to realise that someone else had entered the kitchen. A quick glance out of the corner of her eye confirmed her worst fear; Akbar had come to Shamsher's aid. Shifting slightly sidewards, Michelle angled herself so she had a clear view of both men. Baker's team would arrive shortly but in the interim she needed a plan, and a weapon. Unfortunately, her gun was tucked away in her briefcase on the opposite side of the kitchen. Recalling the layout of the kitchen from her earlier tour, Michelle remembered that the cleaning supplies were located just to her left.

As the two men, now standing side-by-side, starting moving towards her, Michelle stepped to the left and quickly grabbed a broom. Bringing the heal of her conservative flat shoes down onto the end of the broom, she broke off the handle, arming herself with a makeshift Bo. Without giving the men time to re-evaluate the situation, Michelle stepped forward and in one fluid movement brought the Bo down to strike Shamsher on the side of his head. Like his earlier victim, Shamsher fell to the ground unconscious. Turning towards Akbar, she saw him reach into his jacket for a gun. Moving before he could aim and fire, Michelle flicked the Bo in a circular block effectively disarming Akbar and sending the weapon flying well outside of his reach. Continuing the attack, she drove the end of the weapon into his stomach, causing him to double over, and then brought the opposite end of the Bo in an upward attack to his groin. Howling in pain, Akbar dropped to his knees.

Adrenaline pumping, Michelle was instantly alert to the sound of footsteps behind her and whirled around, Bo close to her body ready for action. O'Neil entered the kitchen gun drawn, and surveyed the scene in front of him; one hostile was unconscious, the second on his knees in tears of pain, and Michelle, armed with a broomstick, was in full control of the situation.

"Remind me not to steal your coffee mug," O'Neil deadpanned as he moved across to secure the two men for transport to CTU.

…

12:55pm

"OK, once you have verified and signed your debrief, you can go home and get some rest," O'Neil commented as he placed the statement in front of Michelle.

With a gentle sigh, Michelle reached for the document and began to scan the statement for any errors. Arriving back at CTU, she had been directed to undergo her debrief and had subsequently spent over an hour meticulously describing the events and her actions during her twenty-five minute mission. The adrenaline had long dissipated and an extreme exhaustion had now taken over; frankly she was surprised that she was still functioning. Everything appeared to be in order so Michelle signed the debrief and handed it back across to Rick O'Neil.

"Thanks Rick," Michelle said as she wearily, and rather dejectedly, rose from her seat.

"Don't beat yourself up over the mission, Michelle. The operation failed not you. And if any of those suits try to give you a hard time, just raid the broom closet," Rick advised with a smile.

Unable to stop her own smile, Michelle give a short shake of her head, said her goodbyes and returned to her workstation to pack up for the day. Now that the threat was officially over, all staff that had worked over 16 hours were being sent home; Chris would be completing her IP-MAN shift. As she collected her belongings, Michelle caught up on the latest details. Fareed and Rustam had been brought into CTU for questioning, however, they had provided no more information about those behind the attack then Akbar or Shamsher before them. Fareed had been approached in the local mosque by an unknown man who offered to provide him the means to extract vengeance on the hated Israelis; he had recruited Rustam, Akbar and Shamsher for the task.

Despite O'Neil's reassurances, Michelle still felt that she should have done something different to save the mission. Especially now that it looked like they had no further viable leads to follow. Even though her tired body was screaming at her to go home and sleep, Michelle decided to stop by the interrogation rooms before leaving. She had barely commenced in that direction when she was stopped by a familiar voice.

"The exit is in the other direction," Tony commented sarcastically.

"I was just heading to the interrogation room to check if there were any new leads," Michelle explained.

"No, it looks like Ryan was right. There doesn't appear to be any prearranged meeting between any of the PFF members and those who hired them. This whole operation could have been wrapped up twenty one hours ago," Tony replied, his tone expressing the same frustration and uselessness that Michelle was currently feeling.

"But we didn't have that information at the time; hind sight is always twenty-twenty."

"Yeah," Tony replied not sounded any more convinced by Michelle's encouraging words than she had been by O'Neil's. "Go home and get some rest; they'll be plenty of follow-up work left on Monday morning."

"OK," Michelle replied. The idea of coming back in on Monday to deal with endless mounds of paperwork and chase dead leads was a heartbreaking thought. "It doesn't seem right that after all the work we put into this operation we ended up with nothing."

"Actually, we arrested four terrorists and a biological weapons manufacturer preventing them from infecting about 10, 000 civilians. As for those who planned and funded the attack, the reality is that they will try again so we'll have a second chance to catch them."

Nodding in agreement with Tony's assessment, Michelle uttered her goodbyes and turned to leave.

"Michelle", Tony called out causing her to turn back to face him. He stood there for a minute, before raising his hand to rub his check in a gesture Michelle now recognised as a sign that he needed a minute to think out his next words.

"This is a tough job and this week has been an initiation by fire, but you've done well," Tony concluded awkwardly, a half smile crossing his face.

It wasn't much in the way of praise, but coming from someone who expected nothing short of excellence, it was the highest complement Michelle could hope for. Maybe she would survive this job after all. Returning the smile, she replied, "Thanks, see you next week."

…

**Acknowledgements:** Thanks to all my readers, especially those who took the time to review; your support and feedback is greatly appreciated.

To my beta reader, who helps me to rise above mediocrity.

And to erica1531, who has reviewed every chapter I've written, and also fights to keep Michelle the strong, independent female we know and love (she's on my favourites list, if you're not familiar with her stories).


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